


Press Play

by darlingdearestdead



Series: Nights at Pop's [6]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Future Fic, Married Life, Shipping, canon divergence if canon doesnt have them stay together n get married n be the best always
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 05:03:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10564182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingdearestdead/pseuds/darlingdearestdead
Summary: “I was the outcast at high school, and Betty was the good girl who got involved with a guy from the wrong side of the tracks.” He narrated, his voice a pantomime of seriousness.“You weren’t exactly from the wrong side of the tracks.” Betty protested.“Hey, my dad was in a gang Bets.” He insisted.“But you used to wear superhero underwear.”“Did you just literally air my dirty underwear to all our listeners?” Jughead asked, taking a huge sigh. “Wow, if my masculinity was more fragile, I’d be furious right now.”Future Fic. Ten years after Jason Blossoms death and after the success of Jughead's novel, Jughead and Betty decide to create a podcast based on the murder and their experiences. Their audience suddenly become much more interested in cracking the case of whether Betty and Jughead are togther. Welcome to the world of shipping.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is literally the dumbest fic. Like I am so sorry. I've just been listening to a lot of true crime podcasts recently and then thinking about them and then it seemed to fit? I just had this idea and ran with it. Sorry! Enjoy anyway haha.

“Hi, my name’s Betty Cooper and I’m an investigative journalist.” She paused, and when Jughead didn’t immediately fill in the gap she gave him an impatient kick in the shin, he smirked at her, giving a sigh, but rolled his chair closer to the microphone anyway.

“And I’m Jughead Jones the III.” He said. “No, I’m not joking.”

“His sister’s called Jellybean.” Betty said, in hushed tones, and he shot her a playful glare.

“She is going to kill you for that.” He laughed, and Betty gave him an answering grin before returning to what Jughead mocked as her ‘professional’ voice.

“And in case you were one of the few people who missed it, Jughead is the New York Times bestselling author of the true crime story ‘Murder in Bloom.’”

“Betty’s literally been to war zones.”

She carried on speaking as if she hadn’t heard him. “It details the tragic event that shaped our lives – the murder of our classmate Jason Blossom- and the effects of its uncovering on our small town.” She looked back across to where Jughead sat, leaning back on his chair, giving her a soft smile. “Through multiple episodes, Jughead and I will be sitting down for the first time to publically discuss this event together.” She shifted a piece of paper that lay on the desk towards him, pointing at the line written at the top.

“This is our podcast, Riverdale. Welcome to Chapter I: A sleepy town.” He read out.

()

It had been nearly ten years since the death of Jason Blossom, since Riverdale had been woken from its slumber into a terrifying reality, since Betty and Jughead had helped unmasked a murderer, hurting and healing themselves in the process. They were twenty five years old, no longer teenagers but still young, faces soft and not rid of the traces of childhood, but sharper than before, worn by their experiences.

Betty Cooper was still sweet as sugar, gave too much of herself away to the ones she loved, but there was a toughness in the glint of her eyes that she didn’t need to hide anymore. She’d travelled to warzones, been shot at, and gone undercover to report on the corruption that rotted Washington DC. Experiences like that had changed her, but really she’d changed for good the moment Jason Blossom’s body had washed up on the shores, and this adult version of her was just someone unafraid to peel back the layers.

 And Jughead had always been there, growing too, still sarcastic and acerbic, funny, ironic, always quick with a barb. He’d just become successful, but wore that success uncomfortably like an oversized coat, he’d dreamed of creating a book and now he had he wasn’t sure how to deal with it. His position was the perennial outsider but it was a title he was slowly losing now that there were billboards up for his book and magazines were calling him asking to do full page spreads.

 When Betty had suggested the podcast, sleep eyed over their morning cups of coffee, he'd been resistant, but the more she talked about it, the more convinced he became. She took to leaving articles about the benefits of discussing trauma on his pillow, and pieces about the rise of the true crime podcast, until one day he gave in, and Riverdale was born.

 ()

“It was the sophomore year of high school when our town, and everyone in it, was changed for good. Our thoughts should’ve been focused on exams, the football team, what girl we were chasing,” He smirked at Betty when he said that, and she rolled her eyes, but smiled despite herself. “But that was until the star of our school turned up dead. Now, there was a murderer within our midst, and things would never be the same. But to understand how our all American town harboured so many deadly secrets we first must explore what it was like before a body washed up on our shore. Betty, how would you describe the Riverdale of our childhood?”

She tapped one painted fingernail against her chin. “Picture perfect.”

“Really?” He laughed, leaning back on his chair.

“Yes. Outwardly it had to be perfect, especially in the Cooper family. And I had a sister that I loved, a boy next door who I was in love with, who was willing to come round and have a tea party with my dolls.”

“Superficially, everyone in Riverdale loved to play house.”

“Right. It was false, but I didn’t know that as much when I was a kid. I loved my family so much. I knew that my mother wanted us all to seem happy, so I was happy.”

“Me too.”

“Really?”

“Some of the time. When I was with Archie, or you. As a teenager I used to wish we could go back to that time, when my family lived together, and I lived at Archie’s only when I wanted to. And all the cuts and bruises were bandaged by Mrs Andrews, no girl drama,” He gave her a goofy look. “No murder, even though I was always suspected the town was waiting to crumble.”

Betty smiled. “Archie is Archie Andrews, our best friend and prominent figure in Juggy’s book.”

“The stock hero.” Jughead said. “Riverdale’s very own Lolita. An All-American fuckboy. Take your pick. That was Archie.”

“My best friend and former love interest. Jughead’s brother.”

“In all but blood.” He said solemnly.

()

The podcast took off, their numbers and reviews rising with each episode, articles and think pieces about the event popping up all over the internet. Those who’d read his original book were eager for any new insights and to see the character of Betty Cooper alive and in the flesh, and those who were new to the story were captivated by the characters they were introduced to: Archie, the oblivious teen, Veronica, rich kid turned good, Cheryl, vixen with a soft centre, and Jughead and Betty themselves, the loner and the nice girl who got themselves mixed up in it all, mixed up together, mixed up in general.

But something came along with it that neither Jughead nor Betty had known to expect. Jughead had been aware of the concept of shipping in the same way he was aware of drag queens, something cool but not for him, but that was until it suddenly became very relevant in his life.

It wasn’t as if it happened overnight, it crept up at the, day by day, until suddenly the discourse around their podcast was filled with discussions not about the history of the maple industry or theories about the killer but about Jughead and Betty themselves. Their twitter feeds became full of people talking about Bughead – the nickname they’d apparently been given that sounded, to him, more like an alien race than anything romantic- and soon there were articles, and forums popping up dedicated to dissecting their every word to each other, desperate to figure out what their relationship was.

()

“I was the outcast at high school, and Betty was the good girl who got involved with a guy from the wrong side of the tracks.” He narrated, his voice a pantomime of seriousness.

“You weren’t exactly from the wrong side of the tracks.” Betty protested.

“Hey, my dad was in a gang Bets.” He insisted.

“But you used to wear superhero underwear.”

“Did you just literally air my dirty underwear to all our listeners?” Jughead asked, taking a huge sigh. “Wow, if my masculinity was more fragile, I’d be furious right now.”

“My mom actually liked you the best out of everyone.” She continued.

“She clearly thought you had more sense than to date a guy called Jughead.”

“Possibily.”

“Evidently she underestimated my sheer animal magnetism and sexual prowess.” He deadpanned.

Betty spluttered into the microphone, having to turn away for a second get her laughter back under control, Jughead watched her with a satisfied grin. “You can’t hear her listeners but she’s saying I was right.” He said.

“This is one of those times that I wonder why I thought making this podcast would be a good idea.” She said, when she got had collected herself.

“Ah. Why did you think this was a good idea again?”

“Because, sometimes Juggy, your input and reporting are more impressive than anyone’s.”

That shut him up for a while.

()

Each episode brought more confusion, more discussion, as new information was revealed. There were two sides of the camp, those who believed they’d dated in high school but had become just friends, who were secretly in love of course, and those who believed that the two of them had been together since the murder they were discussing. There was not enough evidence to support either and people would eagerly tune in each week in hopes of more.

()

“I’m not proud of everything I did when I was younger. I was naïve, and scared, and desperate to keep my family together no matter what.” She looked down at where Jughead had taken her hand and was squeezing it. “But you can’t imagine what it was like to live in that town when this was happening, to be a Cooper especially.”

“Sometimes it felt like everyone else but us had forgotten that there was a murderer around town.” Jughead chipped in. “That there was someone dangerous out there who needed to be brought to justice.”

“It did feel like that.” She nodded, though no one but Jughead would be able to see her. “My mind was consumed with my sister and her pregnancy, with the Blossoms and their sinister home where she was locked away, but I still had to have energy for other things too. In between breaking into convents and finding evidence, I had to do calculus homework and plan birthday parties.” She breathed deeply. “I’m just saying that I thought I was going to fall apart, that my efforts to bring my family together and to expose the truth meant nothing. I was failing. But I didn’t and I wasn’t, and I did some things I shouldn’t of, but there were a lot of things I’m glad I did too. And now I’ve got to do all the things I thought might be so out of reach. I got married. I travelled the world. I’ve told the truth. I’ve been kind and helpful where I could.”

“You’ve lived.”

“I have.” She laughed a little from relief. “I have.”

()

That episode stopped the Riverdale fans in their tracks. In the midst of all the emotional untangling and thoughts was the one fact Betty had let slip, she was married. There was a frenzy online, with people tweeting them and each other, all arguing about what this might mean for their fandom. That was until the penultimate episode dropped and, with it, came a revelation.

()

“We never mentioned it on the podcast because we like having some privacy. And, honestly,” She looked across to Jughead and let out a little laugh. “We didn’t think it was that relevant.”

“Apparently, you guys disagreed.” Jughead muttered.

“So, to clarify, Jughead and I are together. We’ve been married for two years.”

“We are literally childhood sweethearts. It’s disgusting.”

“That’s why we didn’t tell you. Jughead was embarrassed.”

“Not true.” He cut in a little too quickly. “Believe me, I’m happy with any opportunity to let people know Betty Cooper settled for me.”

“There was no settling involved.” She insisted, smiling an exasperated smile at Jughead before turning back to her professional tone. “I hope this satisfies all you curious listeners and shippers. So yes, when I talk about my husband, I mean Jughead.”

“And when I talk about my wife, I usually mean Betty. That, or our dog.”

Betty, rightfully, ignored that. “We are so happy for all your support for both our relationship and our work. Thank you from both of us. We only ask you continue to respect our privacy even now you know that we are stupidly in love.”

“Stupidly.” He repeated, voice low and full of humour.

“Ridiculously.” She met his gaze.

“It’s truly awful.” 

“Okay.” She broke away laughing. “We’ll wrap this up. Thanks for listening guys, we’ll see you next week.”

They switched their recording equipment off, pulled their headphones, and stared at each other for a moment. Neither were sure who started it, but suddenly they were laughing uncontrollably, tears forming in Betty’s eyes, as Jughead wrapped one of her hands in his and tugged her and her chair towards him. Their knees bumped awkwardly which only made them laugh more, hands entwined, bodies warm next to each other.

“I can’t believe we had to do that.” Betty said eventually, giving him that twisted half-smile that he loved so much.

“Oh I can.” He said. “When people are fans of something they can be relentless. And you know, it’s obvious when you listen to the podcast.”

“What is?” She looked at him sceptically.

“It’s obvious that I’m hopelessly in love with you, the way I have been since we were fifteen.”

“I love you so much Juggy.” She said, laughing but fiercely sincere.

“I know.” He lifted his other hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “If it wasn’t for that, I’d hate you for making me such a cliché.”

“But you don’t?”

“I don’t.” He confirmed, before leaning forward to kiss her.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this piece of garbage. Let me know what you thought! Haha.


End file.
